Personal Growth Is Good, Unless We're Talking Waist Size

I should have known the trouble would start with Simon. No, no, not that Simon. His namesake, Simon.



And the trouble has nothing to do with who the kitty is named for. It boils down to one simple thing: of all of our kittens, Simon is the one that’s most like her mother.



When we first got Buttons and Rascal, we kept them in our living room. This was at the old place, before we moved here. We barricaded the door, with barely an opening at the top. I mean, a six-week-old kitten. How’s a six-week-old kitten barely much bigger than my hand going to jump five feet?

Rascal never could. He wasn’t that agile, even as a little kitten.


Buttons, on the other hand, would not be stopped. I remember telling Kevin there was a kitten outside our bedroom door. He told me I was ridiculous, there was no way one of them had gotten out.

Until he opened the door and saw Buttons there.

We tried not to let them sleep with us at night. For one thing, they were still so small, Kevin was worried that my nightly flips would find me landing on a kitten. He thought it was bad enough he had to suffer.

We tried cat repellent, two sided tape, you name it. Nothing would stop Buttons from clawing at our bedroom door until we relented and let her in.

Right now, I’m watching Rebus attack Buttons’ tail. Stuart’s asleep in a basket. Simon and Russel are nursing, and Buttons looks pretty choked at Rebus’ antics.

They’ve officially taken over my office.

Yes, Simon could no longer be contained. She escaped from the living room, she escaped from the area I had them enclosed in my office (a walk-in closet).

It’s gone from “isn’t she cute” to “isn’t she a pain in the butt” all in one afternoon.

It is fun to watch them explore, but now I have the added worry. There are so many places they can hide in my office. Last night, we couldn’t find Stuart. She was on the bottom of the bookshelf, on top of a stack of books, sleeping.

Then there was Rebus, somewhat appropriately exploring higher terrain.


Watching the kittens grow reminds me of how we can go through growth spurts in our own life. Not just physically. One day, you reach the barrier and you stop because you know you can’t get over it. You want to see the world on the other side, but it’s beyond you.

Until one day, when it isn’t. When you know if you try hard enough, you can get over the blockade.

This is a year that’s been about overcoming obstacles for me, both good and bad. I don’t have any grand words of wisdom or magic mantras that will help you with whatever you’re facing, other than this:

Don’t give up.

I’ve had a lot of dreams in my life, and no matter how bad things got, how hopeless they seemed, they were still there. Now, I’m seeing some of those dreams become a reality.

I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for two things. 1 – people who believed in me. 2 – people who told me not to quit.

I’m fortunate that I had people who set a good example for me – hence the names of the kittens, despite the fact that Stuart, Russel and Simon are all girls. And I’m fortunate to have had people give me a lot of support.

I’m also, fortunately, learning that I don’t have to be superwoman. Personal growth is also about learning to say no. Murderati’s JT Ellison has an inspiring post up today, about how an author’s life can start to get out of control, and the need to manage your time. If you, like me, have trouble saying no, you’ll want to read JT’s post.

And on that note, I’ll ask what the most important thing you’ve learned this year is, if you want to share. And if not, there are places to go, things to see, and a joke below. Kevin has firefighter training this weekend, so I’ll be here. With big news that you can find out about from Jason Pinter’s Thursday blog post. Otherwise, more news on Monday!

Blog Hopping & News

Murderati’s Simon Wood has put up a fantastic post, filled with excellent advice about how to avoid getting duped on the road to publication.

Remember the interview I did with Trench a few weeks ago? You might be interested in the discovery of a website with information about how to blow up a school in Ontario. Scary stuff. Kids these days.

And the joke is courtesy of JT Ellison

A distinguished young woman on a flight from Switzerland asked the priest sitting beside her, "Father, may I ask a favor?"

"Of course. What may I do for you?"

"Well, I bought an expensive electronic hair dryer that is well over the Customs limits and I'm afraid they'll confiscate it. Is there anyway you could carry it through Customs for me? Under your robes perhaps?"

"I would love to help you, dear, but I must warn you: I will not lie."

"With your honest face, Father, no one will question you."

When they got to Customs, she let the priest go ahead of her.
The official asked, "Father, do you have anything to declare?"

"From the top of my head down to my waist, I have nothing to declare."

The official thought this answer strange, so asked, "And what do you have to declare from your waist to the floor?"

"I have a marvelous little instrument designed to be used on a woman, but which is, to date, unused."

Roaring with laughter, the official said, "Go ahead, Father.”